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Statewide protest held for release of wages & revival of 2 HPC paper mills
June 12: A statewide protest was held on Saturday on demand of revival of the two HPC Paper Mills at Nagaon and Panchgram. They employees also demanded that their pending salaries due since last 54 months should be immediately released. Amid the the wake of the official liquidator issuing an e-auction notice for sale of the two paper mills at Nagaon, deaths of the mill employees continued unabated.
On one hand, when the procession of deaths due to COVID-19 is going on unabated, on the other, being deprived of salary since last 54 months, employees of the two HPC Paper Mills are embracing death one after another. The death toll at HPC Paper Mill has now reached 88 including 4 suicides. During a symbolic protest near the Kargil Vijay Smarak, Silchar, Trade Union leader Manabendra Chakraborty said, “Inspite of repeated assurances both by the central and state government, the two mills are still lying closed. The employees are the worst sufferers. Amidst such a situation, e-auction notice was issued by the liquidator. I request the government to help us to survive. We are all marching towards the mouth of hell.”
He further said that since Himanta Biswa Sarma took over as the Chief Minister of Assam, 3 more employees have lost their lives. He appealed to the Chief Minister to save them by paying them the pending dues and reviving the two paper mills.
The agitating employees also said that the two mills stopped production without even a closure notice under the Industrial Disputes Act. These industries have given good dividends in the past and were viable as an industry. With an efficient management in place, they stated that these two mills can thrive and provide employment to the youth of Assam.
Cachar Paper Mill and Nagaon Paper Mill run by Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) have been non-functional since 20 October 2015 and 13 March 2017 respectively. The employees of the two mills have not received salaries for the past 54 months.
